Jiang Ling easily obtained two maps. It was common knowledge that there were always people selling maps near subway stations, even if they were more than double the price. She carefully folded one and stuffed it into her backpack, while holding the other against her helmet and studying it carefully.
The map, thoughtfully marked in red with the locations of the stops and the city's original important buildings, showed this exit about four kilometers from her destination, with a round trip estimated to take six hours. "Hopefully, this will go smoothly!" she prayed silently.
Quite a few people were out at the same time, many forming small groups, while some, if they were alone, would form makeshift groups to travel together for a while. Some had rented modified jeeps from a rental station, and they would probably drive along the roads cleared by the site maintenance staff for a while before turning towards their intended treasure hiding place or burial place.
"Once you're out, stay on the cleared roads. Don't go to the sides, and don't walk into the wilderness before you see a warning sign. Don't panic if you encounter mutants. If you have teammates, warn them first. If you don't, slowly move away. Try not to use weapons, as that will attract more." Jiang Ling's mind was still reverberating with the three-fold warning to leave the station she'd heard in the isolation pod. She didn't intend to bravely test the lessons behind those words of advice. As she walked along the path, she saw a few pieces of human body parts still lying in the wilderness. It wasn't until she reached a main road, or rather, the remains of a main road, that she saw the so-called warning sign: "Beware of Landmines."
The minefield was fenced off, and after leaving the station, Jiang Ling followed the fences. The outside world was like a snowy winter day, with swirling black clouds obscuring the sky and the wind sweeping the snow, burying the post-war ruins. The water in some low-lying areas hadn't frozen as usual; instead, it was radiating a surprising amount of heat.
Jiang Ling finally understood what people meant when they said cold weather had its benefits. Anywhere she saw uncovered by snow indicated abnormal radiation levels; the snowflakes acted like natural Geiger counters. She looked at the map, found two reference points, and continued on her way toward the ruins.
"Hey! My name is Max. You have good equipment. Are you going to the city too?" A searcher quickly caught up with Jiang Ling from behind and greeted her.
"In the city? About right! My name is Lao Qiao." Jiang Ling replied. She didn't mind having one more person traveling with her, especially since it was so terribly quiet outside and she could hear nothing but the howling snowstorm.
"You are a woman?! How rare!" He was a little surprised and shouted in his helmet.
"Is it rare? Aren't there female soldiers in the army?"
"That's incredibly rare! Solitary searchers like you are as rare as dinosaurs surviving to the present day!"
"Is this your first time out?" A muffled sound came from the protective suit beside him.
"How did you tell that?"
"Only people who go out for the first time would not bring extra filter canisters! You don't know, there are many more accidents on the surface than there are hopes. Nine out of ten times, there will be accidents every time you go out."
"Accident? You mean mutants?"
"It can be considered so, but most of the time it's not. It's mainly due to timing. I've encountered this situation several times!"
Jiang Ling found the man who called himself "Max" quite talkative. While not as chatty as Li Wenjia, he was still quite knowledgeable, so she patiently chatted with him for a while. Jiang Ling learned from him that this small town was not the search team's primary target. It had been hit by two nuclear bombs, and much of the supplies could not be recovered. Furthermore, there were many mutants lingering there, and many unorganized searchers had already died there.
When talking about mutants, Jiang Ling became interested, so she asked, "What kind of mutants are there in the city?"
"It's mainly Sharptooths, and some Will-O'-Wisp. Will-O'-Wisp are solitary, so just don't get scared if you encounter them, but Sharptooths come in packs. While they aren't very powerful individually, when combined they're quite terrifying."
"Nothing else?"
"It's possible there are more, but if we encounter one, the news will hardly get out. So I hope there aren't any."
If the city only contained a few random people, the search team wouldn't be a big risk. They wouldn't abandon the city's high-value items just because of a little radiation. Jiang Ling suspected some unusual mutants might be using the city's ruins as a lair, or even a hunting ground. More importantly, she'd heard earlier that the search team had discovered oversized mushrooms in the city park. Something must have happened to the search team that ultimately abandoned the area. It would be nice if it were simply an unexpected and dangerous mutant.
Jiang Ling fell silent after that, and Max also stopped talking. After two hours of walking through the wilderness at varying depths, carefully wading through a stream, they finally reached the edge of the city. The blizzard had just stopped, and the sun was barely visible behind the swirling clouds. Buildings burned to their skeletons by the heat radiation and the ruins toppled to rubble by the shockwave were covered in layers of black, gray, and white snow. The surroundings were blanketed in a blanket of white, and the silence was eerie.
"The radiation level here is not very strong. Let's say goodbye now. I hope I can meet you again next time!" Jiang Ling stepped on the dilapidated city road covered with snow, and the sound of ice and snow being squeezed came from under his feet.
"Wait! Wait, let's walk together for a while!" Max had just been fascinated by the scenery of the city. When he heard "Old Joe" beside him wanting to say goodbye, he came to his senses and said "wait a minute" several times.
"Haven't you been here several times? Why are you still so scared?"
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